The effect of contact conditions and material properties on elastic-plastic spherical contact

Abstract

The elastic-plastic contact between a sphere and rigid flat is analyzed under perfect slip and full stick conditions for a wide range of the sphere mechanical properties. The analysis provides comparison of the contact load, contact area and distribution of the contact pressure for these two contact conditions. It is found that the contact conditions and mechanical properties have little effect on the global contact parameters. However, the evolution of the plastic zone with increasing interference is substantially different for contacts under perfect slip or full stick conditions.